A few hours ago, Silvermoon City.

As the orcs began to withdraw in an orderly manner, the higher-ups of Quel'Thalas, who had been trapped in Silvermoon City for many days, felt like a big rock had been laid down in their hearts.

Although the city was still surrounded by an army of forest trolls and a small number of orc clans, Anastria could no longer feel the tremendous psychological pressure that had been like a thorn in his back.

The orcs had only entered Azeroth from Draenor through the Dark Gate a few years ago.

Since Quel'Thalas paid little attention to the war between the Horde and the Alliance, which lasted for years, they knew very little about the orcs.

People are bound to be under more pressure when facing unknown enemies, and most of the fears of living beings stem from the unknown.

In contrast, the High Elves have been fighting the forest trolls for thousands of years, and their forms are more relaxed when facing familiar old opponents.

Listening to the cheers of the people in the city who heard the news, Anastria also had a faint smile on his face, and he seemed to be greatly relieved.

After more than ten days on the front line, each day awakened by the desolate attack horn of the orcs, Anastria, who was already old, felt low on energy.

Under the watchful eyes of the members of the Silvermoon Council and a large number of soldiers and civilians, the exhausted-faced Anastria, escorted by the elite led by Salorian, boarded the magic float and headed all the way to the court of the Sunstrider.

Where Anastria could not be seen, several richly dressed nobles glanced at each other, and there was a clear look of displeasure in their eyes.

"If we can't count on stupid trolls and orcs, we're still on our own."

"This time our action is a bit big, it may arouse the suspicion of the old guy, let's take care of it for a while."

"Councillor Drahiel, I'll leave the work on the table to you, don't let us down."

Darkan Drahir, Councilor of the Silver Moon, hurriedly bowed his head respectfully and replied, "Yes, please slow down, several adults." ”

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

When several high-ranking nobles left satisfied, Darkan slowly raised his head and looked at the backs of several people, with a cold light flashing imperceptibly in his eyes.

'A bunch of fools, the Sunstriders have stood at the pinnacle of Quel'Thalas' power for nearly 7,000 years, and the prestige accumulated over thousands of years is not something that you wastes who only know how to enjoy the shadow of your ancestors can easily shake. ’

Since settling in the Eternal Song Forest, most of the nobles who followed Darth Rema to the east have changed their surnames in order to completely distance themselves from the Night Elves in Kalimdor.

They abandoned all words associated with the moon and night, and instead added the affixes of fire, fire, morning, sun, and sun to their surnames on a large scale.

Firehawk, Sunshadow, Firefeather, and Morningstar, these four families are all supporters who have been following Darth Remar since her rise.

After the establishment of the Quel'Salas, in order to thank these high-ranking elven clans for their uncomplaining assistance over the years, Darth Rema personally conferred on them the title of duke, and it was the highest hereditary succession.

Normally, titles granted by kings are only valid in the present day and cannot be passed on to future generations, and only hereditary titles can break the convention.

However, hereditary nobility is also divided into ordinary hereditary and hereditary replacement.

In general, hereditary titles are automatically downgraded for each generation.

For example, a hereditary duke in the founding of the country, when the title passed to his son, he would be demoted to a marquis, and then down to an earl, a viscount, and a baron.

If the descendants of hereditary nobles make meritorious contributions, it will be much easier to improve the title than other non-hereditary nobles.

A living example of this is Sangunar and Deep Shadow, both of which were awarded hereditary countdom for their merits during the Troll Wars.

More than 2,000 years have passed, and it is difficult for the Sangunar family, who are the main conquests, to get ahead in peacetime, and the title has been reduced again and again, and when it comes to this generation, only the baron remains.

And the Deep Shadow family, who has been in charge of the Backlight Blade all year round, is more likely to get credit, after all, it is also necessary to carry out espionage work in peacetime.

In other words, it is precisely because it is too peaceful externally that it is even more necessary to step up precautions internally.

The current Lord of the Shadow Clan, Velles, is now viscounted, and it is said that he is expected to regain the title of earl handed down by his grandfather during his lifetime.

Hereditary succession is different, no matter how many generations it is inherited, the title will never decline, and the descendants of the duke will still be dukes.

Due to the symbolic significance of hereditary nobility, it usually only appeared during the founding of the country.

Darth Rema conferred the title of hereditary duke on only four families, and ironically, all four families were bent on challenging the Sunstrider's dominance thousands of years after Darth Rema's death.

Most of the nobles at the time of the founding of the kingdom of Quill LS will now only lie on the merits and enjoy life, and the descendants cultivated are rarely handy.

But their heritage accumulated over thousands of years is very deep, and even in the modern day, they still have a good voice in Quel'Thalas.

What should I do if I can't produce talents who can be pushed to the top?

Solicitation from the outside world.

It was precisely because of the appreciation of the Sunshadow family that the Lord's descendant, Darkan De Lahier, with his rather capable ability, entered the Silver Moon Council all the way.

Congressman Silvermoon, who has a similar experience to Darkan, is gradually called a republican by political and business celebrities because of the same reform demands.

But anyone with a clear mind knows that behind this group of Silver Moon Councilors stands the hereditary ducal families who dare to wrestle with the royal family of the Sunchaper.

Compared with these great nobles who think about fighting for power all day long, the new generation of meritorious nobles who have participated in the troll war have not fallen so quickly.

Most of these new nobles, mainly earls and viscounts, were firmly united around the royal family of the Sunchaper, and became the mainstay of the royal party.

Of course, there will inevitably be people like the Drahier family who can't resist the temptation of power and interests and turn to the republicans.

Darkan saw very clearly that Anastria, although he was gradually becoming stubborn due to old age, was not completely mediocre.

The Meritorious Sun King, who resolutely decided to ally with humans to fight against trolls, will still show his edge from time to time even in the twilight of his life.

Darkan was able to climb to today's position, relying on definitely more than nepotism, he has already mastered the rules of officialdom.

People who are too prominent are easy to arouse the vigilance of the Sun King, and those who occasionally make a little mistake will not be stared at by the sharp blade of the royal family all the time.

Wait and see, those who cross the red line without being prepared will inevitably suffer backlash when the situation calms down...... But that's not a bad thing for me. ’

Looking up at the aristocratic district in the northeast of Silvermoon City, a hint of sarcasm flashed in Darkan's eyes.

After all, who wants to wear a collar around their neck all the time? ’

……

Stepping into the study of the Sunseeker's Court, the look of exhaustion on Anasria's face quickly faded.

"How's the investigation going?"

Except for the Sun King, a figure suddenly appeared in the empty study.

By the standards of the High Elves, this man's appearance was unremarkable, but he was dressed in rather luxurious clothing.

Bowing his head respectfully and saluting Anastria, the voice was suppressed so that only Anastria could hear it.

"I've sent Valera Sangunar to the south of the forest to join Winlessa Windranger."

"Previously, the tribe's army had been blocking the connection between the north and the south, and with the active retreat of the orcs, the number of red dragons has decreased significantly, and the strength of the blockade network will inevitably be much less than before, and there should be news back soon."

"Red Dragon ......"

Anastria frowned solemnly.

As a horse king who has personally experienced the battle of the trolls, he can look down on the defeated soldiers of the trolls, and even look down on the orcs who have no military force and no cultural heritage.

But for such a powerful and legendary species as the dragons, even Anastria, who has full confidence in Quel'Thalas, does not dare to take it lightly in the slightest.

"I didn't expect the orcs to be able to drive the red dragon, even if it's just a young dragon, it's surprising enough."

Anastria stroked his beard suspiciously: "Wellles, have you found out the origin of these red dragons?" ”

"As far as I know, dragons never get involved in fights between mortal races, so why would they obey the orders of an alien invading race like the orcs?"

"...... on this point"

Vellais Deep Shadow took out a volume of encrypted parchment letters from his bosom and handed it to the Sun King in both hands.

"This is information from Prince Kael'thas from Dalaran, which records the results of the Kenrito Council's investigation into the origin of the Red Dragon."

"Kael'thas ......"

Knowing that the information came from the only child who had not been seen for a long time, Anastria's eyes unconsciously showed a soft color, and she couldn't wait to open the parchment scroll and read it patiently.

It didn't take long for his snow-white eyebrows to wrinkle.

"Dragon's Soul?"